Who's Afraid Of The Big, Bad Wolf?
by typical-add-kid
Summary: Ellabeth has just moved to La Push to get away from her terrifying life in Chicago. But things here are never as they seem. [Takes place during Breaking Dawn after Bella and Edwards wedding, but Renesmee was never conceived.] (Rated M for curse language, violence and sexual content)
1. Chapter 1

Skulking back to my new home I sighed as I walked up the grey gritted driveway. This was going to suck; big time. My Mom and I moved to La Push only 3 weeks ago, and now I've messed up. Already, but this time, it's kind of a big deal. Well, I haven't messed up exactly; it's just something that's going to take a lot of getting used to.

I got to the front door of the house; my heart pounding inside my ribcage so loud that I'm sure even my Mom heard it from inside. I unlocked the heavy black painted door with my freshly cut, sterling silver key, swinging the door open to reveal the smell of something delicious for dinner.

"Ella? Is that you?" My Mom called from the kitchen, content in what she was cooking. It smelled like mashed potatoes and most likely other random vegetables that Mom had found kept away in the secret greenhouse right at the back of the yard.

"Yeah Mom, it's me." My voice was starting to shake, my throat becoming every the more dry with every step I took; I took my coat off and hung it in the closet - along with my shoes - and paced forward. "Hey, Mom, can I talk to you for a second?" I gulped, swallowing my nerves as I reached the open kitchen door. Mom dried her hands and walked over to me, leaning on the door frame.

"Sure, what is it honey?" She gave me a warm smile, "You not enjoying it here or something?" Her smile faded as I shook my head slowly,

"No. I like it here, it's quiet." That was an understatement. She gave me a confused look, "Mom, I need to tell you something... Really important and... I don't really know how to say it." I took a step back and began to pace. A nervous habit I picked up from my Mom. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Ellabeth, what's going on?" Ellabeth. What a stupid name. Not Isabella. Not Elizabeth. Ellabeth. Well, at least it's not Excalibur. I chuckled to myself lightly as I thought of that, but now wasn't the time for jokes, this was serious. But I wondered how seriously my Mom would take this.

"Mom...um... This is really hard so, if you wouldn't mind not laughing and... Well... just believe me I guess, 'cos that would be totally sweet." I stuttered. She lightened her frown and stood up straight, ready to listen to what I was about to say. "Okay, so... I don't really know how to say this..." I paced again,

"Ella, just say it for crying out loud." Another trait I picked up from Mom; impatience.

"Mom," I started, thinking over what I was about to say, "I'm... Um..."

"Oh my God," Mom dropped her arms and had a face on that looked like she had just been pushed into a lake full of ice cold water, "You're pregnant aren't you?" Tears in her eyes ready to fall at any second,

"God! No! Mom, why would you even... Just... No. No, I'm not pregnant, Mom." I insisted. Why would I even want a baby? I hate children, all they do is run around and scream like idiots and poop.

Mom seemed convinced enough to calm down but she still had one hand on her hip. The poor woman was probably thinking that if I wasn't pregnant, what other trouble could I possibly get myself into?

"Mom... I'm..." I took a deep breath, throwing away everything I had, just in case this went badly. "I'm a werewolf." I closed my eyes, awaiting the storm. Nothing came. I opened my eyes and looked over at my mother. She was shaking, hard. But why? "Mom, are you okay...?" And then she burst out laughing. Literally burst. I folded my arms and shifted my weight to my other leg.

"Ella, are you serious? Aren't you a little grown up to be playing make-believe?" Mom cooed, obviously trying to soothe me -like when I found out Santa wasn't real- it didn't work, she was still laughing too much.

"Mom, I'm serious" I dropped my arms and stomped one foot, much like a child would do when she wanted a new toy and she wasn't allowed it. Mom wasn't going to give in anytime soon.

"Honey," She straightened up, still chuckling and put a hand on my shoulder, "Werewolves don't exist. They're make-believe; they're only real in scary stories." She raised her eyebrows, like she was trying to convince a mass murderer that killing for fun or revenge wasn't real, even though they'd done it a hundred times. She came over to me and rested a hand on my shoulder, like she used to when I couldn't have my own way as a child.

"Mom, I'm not kidding. Look I can even show you." I stepped away from her embrace, feeling flushed and a mixture f embarrassed and annoyed.

"Go on then, Ell's. Show me the big bad wolf." She mocked, laughing gently at my madness. Taking a step back, I was ready, I knew how to phase so easily now.

"You're gonna have to stand back a bit more Mom." I pushed her back into the kitchen, but against the counter, so I was still in plain view. I took a few step back myself, knowing what happens from first-hand experience what happens when you phase to close to someone. Especially someone you really love. That's why we had to leave Chicago.

I stepped back and began to take off my clothes; Mom shot a disgusted look, "What?" I asked loudly, "My clothes rip when I phase with them on." She just shook her head, still sceptical about what I was doing. I took another step back, crouching slightly. Bracing myself, I crouched down further, closing my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch my Mom's reaction.

I felt it rip through my entire body, could feel my bones growing and changing, the disks in my spine started to burn as it lengthened to an extortionate size to make room for a tail to be present. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I shook them out to grow. My fingers expanded and grew rough, my nails breaking the skin as they thickened and turned black. Although I knew it literally only took a second, it felt like minutes, hours, especially because I had an audience. I heard heavy breathing at the end of the house. I opened my eyes and saw my Mom. She was sat on the floor with her legs tucked under her chin, her hands covering her eyes. I paced slowly over to her, one paw at a time. A few feet away I led on my stomach and rested my head on my paws. I just looked at her, hoping that she would look up but I got nothing, not even a glance. I whined quietly. That didn't even make her flinch. She probably thought it was one of the dogs we had already. - That was my idea, Mom got her husky, Nanook, that she always wanted, and I insisted that she buy me my own wolf. So she did, and I called it Wolfgang, Wolfie for short. Original, isn't it? - I shifted forward, closer to Mom, and nudged her foot. That made her jump, and yelp a little bit.

"Ella?" She asked quietly, she too was shaking now. I nodded in reply, the only downside to being wolf was not being able to talk, but I didn't find it too hard to communicate without speech. Mom reached out to touch me, I gently nudged my muzzle into her hand and she just sat there, with her hand on my nose, frozen again. I licked her hand, soaking it in silver spit, trying to lighten the mood with a goofy grin, lolling my tongue out to the side so that my bare teeth wouldn't look quite so menacing. Mom flinched when I jolted my head back though; I gave her an apologetic look and stumbled to the pantry, grabbing a towel in my mouth on the way. I looked back one last time to Moms scared expression, a wave of guilt swam over me for laying yet another burden on my already weary mother.

I phased back quickly and wrapped the towel around myself. Pacing back into the kitchen, I noticed for the first time how dizzy I felt after phasing back to human. I wasn't surprised really; my whole body had to go through such a trauma every time it happened. I stumbled past the counter, accidentally bumping into Wolfie on my way. As I reached my mother's spot on the floor I knelt beside her, trying to offer comfort. She still looked pretty spooked.

"Mom, are you okay?" I asked her smoothly, putting a hand on her back, rubbing it lightly

"Y...yes, dear." She stuttered "Go get dressed honey." She half-asked, I nodded once, knowing she didn't see it, got up and walked up stairs to my room.

The light mid-summer breeze was cooling on my red-hot skin; I walked over to my walk-in closet and picked out what to wear, sweats and a tank top. That should do nicely. I dropped the towel to my ankles and scrambled into my clothes, after that, I just took a minute to throw my shoulder length auburn hair into a messy ponytail, put some mascara on and jogged back downstairs. My previous clothes were still strewn across the living room floor where I'd taken them off in a hurry; I stuffed them into a backpack and searched for the dogs leashes. I yelled to my Mom -who was back in the kitchen, doing whatever- that I was taking the dogs for a walk and to just call me whenever she wants me back. Although there was one thing she said to me, just as I was about to leave the house; 'Don't eat anyone.' Yeah, cos I'm sure humans taste wonderful. Not.


	2. Chapter 2

I closed the door quietly on my way out -I wasn't sure how jumpy my Mom was still- and continued on my way to... Well, just about anywhere. My two dogs were extra energetic today, I had no idea why. I would have freaked out if my owner turned into a giant mutt whenever she pleases! None-the-less we carried on as normal, the dogs dragging me where ever their noses take them and me just following along, taking in all of my new surroundings.

Back in Chicago, Mom and I lived right in the city centre, so it was always noisy and restless. Here it's peaceful and tranquil. This is the environment that I prefer, where everything is quiet, with exception of the odd car going past on the dusty old road and the squeak and squirms of nearby wildlife. This was perfect, plenty of vegetation, beautiful sights and pretty nice neighbours, well, the ones we'd met so far anyways.

As I emerged out of my thoughts and came back to reality, I noticed that the dogs had taken me somewhere new. It looked like a beach. From where I was stood, I could see that it was the shape of a crescent moon with pretty white sand covering the main land of the landscape, cliffs and more vegetation at the back and the most gorgeous sea view you could ever see. Today was a better day, in terms of weather. It was bright and sunny out, but with that cool summer breeze that I love. I decided against letting Nanook and Wolfie of their leashes - although they were eager to explore, I didn't see any signs giving permission- and went over to a giant log to rest my feet, listening to the waves gently crashing against the shore. That was, until I heard people approaching. I shouldn't have to move, well unless they asked me to, I was here first. "Hey," I soft but very deep voice spoke from behind me, I sat bolt upright, preparing for human contact. I turned around to face the stranger and instead came face to face with the most handsome boy. He looked about the same age as me; his hair was jet black and was cropped short and spiked into a practical but fashionable style, his was skin a dashing russet brown that looked so soft to touch. His face was chiselled, perfectly angled, but still boyish and cute, and his eyes, oh, those eyes. I could have melted there and then. His gorgeous chocolate brown eyes bore into me, captivating me into a trance, until he spoke with his silken voice again. "You're new around here, aren't you?" The beautiful stranger questioned,

"Uhh... Yeah, I am." I stumbled over my words, still mesmerised by his eyes,

"Well, in that case. Welcome to La Push," He beamed, flashing his perfect white teeth, "My name's Jacob Black. I live just up there on the reservation." He smiled again, pointing slightly behind and to the left of me,

"I'm Ella Jackson; I live about half a mile down the road from here." I smiled in return. Jacob held out his large hand for me to shake, I reached out and took it, losing my hand in his, it felt nice like this. His warm, human flesh was covering mine in a friendly embrace. I hadn't had this for so long.

"Well Ella, it's a pleasure to meet you." Jacob flashed those perfect teeth once more, I noticed this time how they glowed in contrast with his red-brown skin and I couldn't help but smile myself, it was contagious.

"You too" I forced out; I couldn't believe how, even though I had only just met Jacob, I was in awe. Jacob's gaze met mine for a few moments; I couldn't help but stare at his beautiful face and had a strange urge to stroke his skin, just to feel the smoothness of it. I looked away nervously when I realised what I was doing. Jacob seemed to notice this and chuckled lightly.

"So, are these your dogs?" He asked, patting Nanook lightly on the head, I stroked Wolfie's neck,

"Yeah, they're not as fierce as they look though." What was I saying? They didn't even look fierce. I blushed embarrassed at my nervous habit of talking crap constantly.

"I'll bet," He let out a laugh, "They're cute, though. What're their names?" He asked, stroking both dogs, I forced myself to look away from this beautiful enigma that was sat next to me,

"Uhh that one's Nanook," I pointed at my husky, and then pointed over to my half-asleep wolf, "And this is Wolfgang." I smiled at the memory of when I first named Wolfie, I had been listening to way too much Mozart. Jacob seemed to like the name though, he smiled and turned back to face me,

"Wolfgang, the wolf?" He beamed, the pearls of teeth threatening to show themselves, holding back a smile,

"Yeah, I was listening to a lot of Mozart at the time I got him. That's his full name." I blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, another nervous habit, clearly. He smiled at that too, once again, the smile was contagious. We sat in silence for a few seconds, just listening to the ocean again.

"You know, you can let your dogs off the leash here, it's a free reservation." He pointed out, seeing that my pups were restless, I smiled as I spoke,

"Oh, I didn't see any signs, so I didn't want to take my chances." I laughed, Jacob joined in,

"Nah, the cops around here are pretty much cool with most things." With the reassurance, I unhooked the dogs and watched them bound off across the beach, tumbling over their own feet as they went, jumping over rocks, diving in the tide pools and splashing in the sea. "So," Jacob started, "Have you had a chance to look around the reservation yet?" He asked, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back onto his arms, luckily enough the log was thick enough, Jacob was fairly tall from what I gathered,

"Not yet. I kinda got dragged here by the dogs." I laughed, Jacob joined,

"Well, I'd be happy to show you around, if you wanna go for a walk sometime?" He offered, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand, looking down as if he were a child again. I looked down at the leashes in my hands and blushed. A complete stranger, a very gorgeous complete stranger wanted to show me around town. I thought it over in my head for a moment, second-guessing myself when I thought that he might not just be being nice out of courtesy and he actually wants to hang out. I decided to agree. What have I got to lose, right?

"Sure, that'd be nice." I smiled up at him; I caught myself admiring every single one of his features. Just before the silence broke out too much, a wolf's howl ripped through the cool air, causing our head to spin wildly in different directions; mine spinning to look at Wolfie, Jacob's spinning to look into the woods, "Was that what I think it was?" I questioned, turning back to face Jacob,

"There are wolves in the forest," He explained, "They're harmless really, just a little larger than the average wolf." He smiled, reassuringly. I raised my eyebrows in mutual belief, out of all the wolves I've seen in my life -which admittedly is only a few- Wolfie has been the biggest. Standing at just over a metre tall, Wolfie's body comes up to my hips, his head comes up to my upper torso. That's about half of what I am when I'm wolf. So it's safe to say that he's fairly huge. But Jacob had seen how large Wolfie is, these must be pretty big dogs to over shadow mine.

"Do they ever come out? Like, onto the reservation?" I asked, intrigued by these mysterious creatures. I've always loved wolves, even when I was younger; I would always pester my Mom to get me one to call my own. Everything in my room as I was growing up would have wolves on it; t-shirts, posters, dream catchers. If it had a wolf on it, you could almost guarantee I had it in my bedroom. Eventually she bought me Wolfie for my sixteenth birthday back in August, it was the following September now and Wolfie has never left my side, except, obviously when I've gone to school.

"Sometimes they come onto the beach, but they mostly stay in the forest." He mused, I nodded but was somewhat disappointed that I couldn't see any of them yet, maybe I will someday. A low growl broke my thoughts; I looked down to where it came from, and Wolfie was at my feet, crouched low into a protective stance, his piercing eyes staring into the forest right where Jacob had been looking. I peered over my shoulder facing the over-grown shrubbery. What were they looking at? I couldn't see anything. I looked back down to my dog,

"Chill out, baby. It's okay, probably just another animal." I tried to soothe him, stroking his mane that had stuck up as a defence mechanism. Another snarl broke the silence from the forest, quieter though this time, I realised only now that I had to use my full concentration to look and hear that deep into the forest. Five, massive black figures emerged from the darkness. Jacob jerked uncomfortably as we both stood up. The silhouettes stalked inevitably, towards us.


	3. Chapter 3

The five menacing figures continued to stalk towards us through the overgrown trees. Their paced slowed to what would be a tiptoe if they were human. Their steady pace thundered on the ground sending shocks through my body, shaking the trees slightly as they passed. I felt the vibrations from the ground grow stronger; they were close. I readied myself for impact, crouching down on instinct clenching my fists. I felt the waves of phasing coming on; my hands were red hot and clammy, my eyesight sharpening and my body shaking so fast that no normal human would be able to tell. I calmed myself down, but still kept myself on edge.

I wasn't shaking from anger or scarce, I don't know why, but for the first time in years, I felt the need to protect. I didn't know what from exactly, but I knew I needed to. Perhaps, for some bizarre reason, I wanted to protect Jacob. More than I wanted to protect myself. But I suppose, it would be kinda awkward taking his mauled body back to his parents and trying to explain what had happened. I looked over to my new friend, he looked sturdy enough, he was crouched down, much like I was, -but he was slightly closer to the woods than I was as he was so much taller than me- and was staring at the black silhouettes in front of us, still pacing in our direction. I turned my head back to the forest, and snapped it back to look at Jacob again, "Remember those wolves I told you about earlier?" He asked in a hushed tone, I nodded in retaliation, "I think it's about time for an introduction." As he finished speaking he stood up straight to his fullest height. Jeez, how much taller does he want to get? I thought to myself. What did he mean by introduction anyways? Did these wolves talk? Yeah, sure… But, then again...

I looked at Jacob, frowning. He continued to stare into the forest, his deep eyes transfixed, his scruffy black hair blowing in the wind, his breathing heavy. I looked back into the woods, to where five gigantic wolves should be standing. Only, they weren't there for me to look at, but in their place stood five young men. All five of them were tall, with tanned skin, short black hair and dark brown eyes that glistened ferociously in the light. None of them were wearing much, only a pair of worn out denim skate shorts each. Not that it was such a bad sight, all of them had nicely toned bodies, but that was completely another subject.

The middle guy, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward towards us. The rest followed, each wearing a matching scowl. My eyes flicked over each of them, scanning their features, looking for any similarity of what just happened, and what I thought just happened. I looked at Jacob; he seemed more relaxed than before. It was becoming obvious that he knew these people. That was when I blanked unexpectedly. That happens a lot. I just tune out for no reason and end up just staring at the first thing my eyes set on. This time, my eyes were on Jacob. I couldn't even begin to imagine how un-easy he must have felt under my absent gaze. As I slowly crashed back into reality I caught snippets of the conversation that was undergoing between Jacob and the leader of the strangers, but I could only manage to pick out parts of sentences like; "She's new to the reservation" and "I don't think you realise how quickly this can become dangerous for all of us, Jacob". The leader's voice was deep and booming; it echoed through the woods and sent shivers down my spine.

I found it obvious that the danger the guy was referring to was me. I was often associated with danger and trouble back in Chicago. As I thought about it more I could feel a low growl build up in my throat. I caught myself, just in time and coughed to cover it up, unfortunately, this made everyone look over to me. I felt blood rush furiously into my cheeks; they were most likely a bright crimson red by now. Jacob looked at me last, I felt everyone's gaze look me over, and I hate it when people do that. "Ahem... Ella... These are my friends." Jacob informed me nervously; I shifted closer to him instinctively, trying to read his face. He nodded in the direction of the leader with the face of thunder, "That's Sam Uley" I gave Sam a weak smile, but he didn't return the gesture, I looked down, waiting for Jacob to continue, "The one on his right is Paul" The Paul guy looked like he was attached to Sam by the hip, although they both wore matching expressions, Paul had a more aggressive aura around him, he seemed like the kinda guy that could get angry at the slightest of things. I smiled at him too, and like Sam, he didn't smile back. I turned back to face Jacob, rejection creeping up on me. "That one's Jared," I smiled hastily, not wanting it to be wasted on another misery guts, but to my surprise, the Jared guy half smiled back. That made me feel a little better but I still didn't get what the other two were grouchy about. "That's Embry" Jacob pointed to a younger looking guy, "And the little one, that's Quil." I smiled over to the both of them, my smile got wider as I received a full smile from Embry and even a wave from Quil. A silence fell amongst the small crowd, tension hanging in the breeze. I looked to the floor nervously, feeling someone's stare burn through me. I coughed silently, looking back up to the group of men, then at Jacob. "Uhh... Could you excuse me for a sec Ella?" He asked and I nodded in reply, my heartbeat escalating. As Jacob left my side Wolfgang replaced him, posed in a protective stance, Nanook on my other side mirroring Wolfgang, but with slightly less aggression.

I watched Jacob stride over to the leader, Sam. They exchanged looks and began talking.

Jacob's POV.

I walked over to Sam; he was going to make this so hard for me. I knew what he was going to say already; "She's bad for this pack, she needs to leave, she's dangerous, I don't like her" Blah, blah, blah. I wasn't going to give up that easily. There's just something about her.. I reached Sam and just stood there, standing my ground even before anything was said. After a while, Sam spoke up,

"Jake." He started, simply. I prepared myself for whatever he was about to throw at me, even though he knows all too well that I've heard it all before. "I should imagine you know what I'm going to tell you." I rolled my eyes,

"I have a pretty good idea" I stated, Sam's expression hardened more than it already was; I didn't think that was possible.

"Then you'll already know that there's something strange about her. And I don't like it." I rolled my eyes again. Saw that one coming. "This is dangerous Jacob, you know that."

"I don't get it, what's so dangerous about her?" I crossed my arms; this is starting to get ridiculous.

"I don't know yet. But I've got that feeling. Something's not right about her and I want you to find out what it is." I don't believe this; he wants me to be his little sniffer dog? No pun intended.

"What? Why should I? She's fine!" Sam sighed, getting annoyed as was I.

"Just do it Jake." He turned to leave. "I trust you." And with that Sam and his pack left the beach.

I shook my head and walked back over to Ella. She was stood watching me, stroking her dogs. She took a deep breath and took a few small steps towards me. "Welcome back," She smiled, "So, what was all that about?" She asked as we walked back to the log we were sat on before we were rudely interrupted. "Oh, nothing. My friends just dropped in to say 'Hi'" Okay. So lying isn't right. She probably saw right through it anyway. Ella sat down and laughed slightly. I raised an eyebrow and sat down beside her.

"I was referring to when you said about meeting wolves or something." Oh crap. Now she's suspicious. What could I say? Come on Jake, think of something!

"Well, we all go to school together and we're all on the football team and the mascot is a wolf so we're known as the Quileute High Wolves, so...yeah. Wolves." I laughed nervously, realising that my made-up story was actually believable. I mentally high-fived myself. Nice job Jake! Ella looked at me, obviously she heard my laugh.

"So, there're no werewolves who are able to shape-shift back and forth from human to wolf whenever they please then?" She made the question sound as casual as if she were asking if she were asking you the time. My mouth dropped.

"What?" Oh my gosh. Sam was right? She knows! Ella knows about the wolves! Ohhh Sam was not gonna like this. Wait. I'm gonna tell him? Ha. No. I decided to play it cool. I faked a cough, covering up my last question, "Uhh, what do you mean?" I raised my eyebrows and made the pitch of my usually deep voice slightly higher. So I'm a bad actor, sue me. Ella looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I had only just realised how they complemented her English Rose complexion. Oh man. Now I sound like a girl.

"Jacob," She started, "I need to tell you something. Well.. Two something's." I squinted, wondering what they could be. Well obviously one would be that she knows about wolves. Hmmm... What could..., Oh! For the love of God please don't be a man!

"Well, ummm.. The reason I know about your friends being shape shifters is..."

Ella's POV

I took a deep breath again. Should I tell him that I just read a lot? No, he doesn't deserve to be lied to. I took a minute to compose myself. Here goes nothing. "Because.. I'm a shape shifter too." I looked into his eyes, he didn't seem effected in anyway. Yet. Jacob nodded, understanding. Good, he didn't faint. Now, for the next big secret, "And I.." I started quietly,

"Wait, Ella. Before you say anything else, well, you might have already guessed but, I'm also, a shape shifter." He breathed heavily and I smiled at him.

"Well at least one wolf likes me." I laughed nervously,

"Who said I liked you?" he smiled and shifted slightly away. We both laughed and he shuffled back, closer to me this time. Jake coughed lightly, still smiling that cute, lop-sided smile of his, "So.. What were you gonna say before?" He looked me in the eyes, expecting an answer.

I opened my mouth to begin and stuttered. I couldn't tell him. It's not that I didn't trust him. I just couldn't bring myself to tell him. Enough information for one day, people would say,

"It doesn't matter" I smiled at him, and then looked down. I tilted my head so that it was resting lightly on his massive shoulder. He didn't flinch away or anything, so I left it there and gazed up to the setting sun.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next day in a daze, with added numb feet. It kinda figures that Wolfie was sleeping at the end of my bed; he always did when I was too tired the night before to tell him to get off. I wiggled my dreary legs in a vain attempt to get the blood moving again in my toes, but with no such luck. I sat up and dragged my dead feet out from under my enormous dog, waking him up with a jump. I laughed and rubbed my eyes, yawning and stretching out all the sleep. As I did so, a soft pounding sound came from downstairs. I stood up off my bed, swaying from still being light-headed, that usually happens when I get up too fast. I was about to stagger over to my desk for support when I heard my Mom call from downstairs, "Honey, someone at the door for you."

"I'll be right down." I called back, my voice croaky, still tired and rough from my slumber. I quickly pulled some old sweatpants on over my bed shorts and began the journey downstairs. I say the word journey because when your legs feel like they're made out of wood and you have to go down two flights of stairs that are curved, -like spiral staircases- it becomes more than a casual stroll down a couple of porch steps.

When I reached the ground floor, hitting my elbows on the railings on the way down, I went to steady myself on what I thought would be the dining table, but ended up tripping over my own feet and falling into something soft and warm instead. I found my feet and looked up to see a pair of beautiful chocolate brown eyes, I could have melted there and then, but instead, I just sneezed and fell backwards into my poor, puppy-eyed crash-mat even more.

I looked back up to come face-to-face with Jacob Black. I smiled weakly, completely embarrassed.

"Well, good morning to you too." Jacob smiled back, chuckling lightly. I turned around to face him properly and took a step back. I laughed nervously and looked to the floor,

"Hi, Jacob." My words came out in almost a whisper; I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and looked up at him.

"You okay? You look a little shook up." He laughed, unable to keep a straight face after my performance down the stairs and into his arms.

"Yeah I'm fine," I tried to play it cool; "I do that every morning." I realized how dorky that made me sound and couldn't help but laugh at myself. Jacob joined in the laughter, "So," I said, changing the subject, "What'd you come round for?" I started to walk into the kitchen, motioning for him to follow,

"Well, I was talking to my friends that you met yesterday," Ahh yes, the scary guys who don't like me much, "And, they'd like to get to know you." He explained, perching himself on one of the counters. I opened a cupboard and pulled out a bowl and some cereal,

"Really? Cos it didn't seem like it last night." I doubted, pouring milk into the bowl and grabbing a spoon. Jacob smiled slightly,

"Yeah, well... they wanted to apologize for being rude too." He rubbed the back of his neck, and smiled again; I raised an eyebrow and turned back to my breakfast.

"So, when are they planning to...? Get to know me?" What are they gonna do? Kidnap me? Tie me to a chair and shine a light in my eyes? I smiled to myself,

"Ummm... Well there's a bonfire tonight. You're more than welcome to come with me if you want?" Jacob asked, hopefully.

"Sure." I swallowed the mouthful of cereal "That'd be cool." I looked up at the smiling goon on my counter. Jacob jumped down and walked over to my side. He just stared at the side of my face while I ate. "What?" I asked, Jacob just laughed slightly and continued to look at me. After a few more seconds of it, I started to get paranoid, "What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I touched my cheek, frowning.

"Nope, nothing on your face." He smiled sweetly, I frowned harder,

"Then what are you looking at me like that for?" I ordered,

"Oh no reason. I just like to see how long it takes to make people uncomfortable." He beamed; I glared at him and felt the corners of my mouth begin to turn upwards. Only then did I realize how infectious his smile was.

"Whatever." I laughed, "Get out of my house, I need to get changed." I said, pushing him away lightly, Jacob smiled then pulled a sad face, putting his puppy eyes to good use.

"Oh, well if you want me to leave..." Jacob slumped towards the door, "I mean, I was just gonna ask if you wanted to hang out, you know, see the reservation and all. But if you don't want to, I mean, we could always go some other time..." He dragged his words out as long as possible, pouting and sticking out his bottom lip a little. I tapped my foot on the floor,

"Fine." I was defeated, "Wait down here. I'll be 10 minutes." I turned to leave the room when I heard a faint, "Yesss!" coming from Jacob's direction. I stopped in my tracks, making it known that I heard him, cleared my throat and carried on out of the kitchen, smiling to myself.

Back in my room I made a dash for my make-up bag, applying minimal, after all, less was more, right? I brushed through my straight, chestnut hair then headed for the closet. Now, my closet wasn't just a closet. It was a sanctuary to me. All my favourite things were kept in here; I guess I'm just lucky the house came with walk-in-closets. I stepped past the pile of dirty laundry sat by the door, waiting to be thrown in the wash, and rummaged through my clothes. I settled for a pair of dark blue skinny-jeans and a 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' shirt. Before leaving my room after the promised 10 minutes, I checked my hair one last time, grabbed a jacket and headed back downstairs. "Hey" I called to Jacob as I came down the last flight of stairs and flashed him a smile,

He returned the smile and asked, "You ready to go?" I slid into my jacket and called over my shoulder to my Mom. "I'm going out Mom." and received an expected,

"Okay, don't stay out too late." and with that Jacob and I headed towards and out the door.

Outside was colder than I expected. I pulled my jacket closer to my shivering body.

"You're not cold are you?" Jacob laughed, "I though you said you're a wolf too?"

"I am." I protested, "The weather still affects me." I looked over at Jacob, "Wait, it doesn't affect you?" Jacob smiled at my question and answered, boastingly,

"Nope, my body temperature maintains at a toasty 108.9" He chuckled, "I could stand in a snowstorm naked if I wanted to and still be warm." Jacob smiled smugly, obviously pleased with himself. I simply smiled at his example and continued walking. "So" He started, "If you get cold so easily, why'd you move to one of the coldest states in the country?" I looked down, I didn't want to be honest, but I couldn't lie. I promised myself when I first moved here I wouldn't. "Well, if I'm really honest," I took a deep breath, "I had to leave my old home because..." I trailed off. Jacob looked at me, musing me to carry on. "Because, I accidentally attacked somebody, and that someone was my ex-boyfriend." I looked down at the ground, "He died from the attack." I forced back the tears and sniffed. Jacob turned to me and gave me a sympathetic look before stepping towards me and embracing me in a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head into his warm muscular chest. I've never been one for crying, so his pure white shirt remained unstained from my mascara. How I wanted so much just to stay there, in his arms. He pulled away and smiled slightly, I returned the smile and let go of his waist. His hands slipped down and off my shoulders but left one hand on the small of my back as we resumed our walk around the reservation in silence. Time passed and the silence loosened as we began casual conversations about what would happen when school started and after a few minutes we arrived at the beach where we met last night. I realized only then that we'd been wandering for quite a while as the sky had darkened slightly. We walked further onto the beach, not really watching where we were stepping, or at least, I wasn't. Everything happened so fast, I was walking, didn't see the rock in the sand. I felt myself begin to fall through gravity and in the same second came back up to my feet. I heard a laugh come from behind me and I felt warm hands around my waist. I guessed Jacob must have pulled me up when he saw me trip. "Whoa, watch your step girl!" He continued to laugh, "Are you okay?" He lifted his hand to rest it on my back.

"I'm fine. Hidden rocks don't really help the un-coordinated." I joked along with him. We started walking along the beach again when we saw an orange glow in the distance. "What's that over there?" I squinted at the orange smudge and pointed so Jacob could tell what I was on about.

"Oh that's probably the guys," He said coolly, straightening up, "Shall we?" He asked formally, smiling a little bit,

"Sure thing." I answered, in a very un-formal manner. We strode over to where the group were sat, the first people I noticed were the scary men from last night. Some sat together, others sat next to a girl which they had their arm around, girlfriends maybe? The big one, the Alpha I guessed, stood up to greet us.

"Jacob and friend." He welcomed in a strange tone "How pleasant for you to join us." He said slightly more edgy. So much for wanting to be friends, I thought to myself. Suddenly he turned to face me, "You must be Ella. My name's Sam Uley. Welcome to the pack." He out stretched his hand hesitantly, I reached out towards it slowly and shook it,

"Uhh.. Hi. I didn't know I had to join a pack?" I asked regretting saying anything about the pack. I wasn't entirely sure if it came off rudely or as just a query.

"Well you don't have to, but it would make things a lot easier for you to settle in." He answered calmly, seemingly not affected at all by the question. I nodded, almost invisibly and looked to my feet, feeling myself begin to zone out. I fought it this time, wanting to be awake for the evening. Sam motioned for Jacob and me to follow him to where everyone else was seated and we complied. We sat ourselves next to the two nicer wolves of the pack that I had met, Embry and Quil I think they were called. The once hushed banter grew louder as the evening progressed. I learnt a lot of things about the reservation and the history of the Quileute's, but I also learnt a lot about my new friends too, for example; Jacob's really into football and sports and thinks running (in wolf form) is a sport, Quil is a really messy eater and often snores and Embry is how the boys described as "quiet" and "deadly". It's safe to say I made a lot of brand new friends that evening too. I met Leah Clearwater and her kid brother Seth, they were both wolves. Leah was tall and slim; pretty to say the least if it weren't for that constant frown she wore. She had long, sleek black hair (which tonight she wore in a messy ponytail), and olive tone skin which matched her deep brown eyes. Her brother Seth was a lot shorter than her, he also had sleek black hair which was cut similar to the rest of the packs, but his seemed slightly longer and scruffier and it suited him. Seth, like his sister had olive skin and dark eyes, though his facial expression was a lot less tense than Leah's, he looked relaxed and carefree, I sensed he was somewhat of a 'wild child' or a 'Lost Boy' as my friends and I called them back in Chicago, mainly after the film from 1984. They were reckless and disobedient, but a sweet and the ever-so-useful, 'I can get away with murder' atmosphere hung loosely around them. I also met Kim and Emily, Emily was Leah and Seth's cousin and Sam's imprint, she like Leah was beautiful, she would be the essence of perfection, if only it weren't for the huge scar running down the right side of her pretty face. Kim was Jared's imprint partner, she wasn't as pretty as Leah and Emily but she was in her own way. She also wasn't a wolf although she more than likely knows about it now.

The noise and chatter hushed as Sam cleared his throat in a loud and booming manner,

"Friends, if I may have your attention please. I am pleased to welcome a new member to our pack;" Oh great. "Ella Jackson." Sam motioned over to me and everyone waved or said a quick 'hello', I smiled back and blushed furiously, looking down at the sand underneath my legs. Jacob wrapped a comforting arm around me and offered a reassuring smile; this only made me blush more. The conversations among other groups started up again after a minute or two. And that's when things started to go downhill.

A couple of the wolves, Paul and Jared, had gotten into an argument about something or another and it started to get pretty serious. Before everyone realized they were in wolf form and ripping each other to shreds. Some of the wolves, Leah, Embry and Sam were trying to break it up and the others were encouraging them. I sat back and watched the on slaughter of beast vs. beast with wide eyes, I know I am a wolf myself, but back in Chicago, there were no other wolves to fight with. This was all new to me.

Slowly a foul stench filled the air. I knew that disgusting yet delightful odour; I knew it all too well - blood. Someone was bleeding. I may have forgotten to mention earlier, not only am I a wolf, I am also a half-vampire. My Grandfather on my Mother's side is where I get my wolf from, since she had no son's, it was passed on to me. My Father, David, was a vampire. I never met him; he was hunted down and destroyed soon after I was born. I hadn't had blood for years as I found that I could live without it unlike my late Father, but none of that mattered right now. I could smell it, I could hear the blood flowing out of the wound and evaporating into the cool night's air. I felt my pupils widen as my thirst grew more and more uncontrollable. I wanted, no, needed that blood. There was so much going to waste on the hot sand. I struggled to contain myself. Before I knew it I was up like a bullet and over at the two wolves' sides. Jared had been bitten. Paul had taken a huge chunk out of his arm and it was just left there. An open wound. An open wound filled with deliciously mouth-watering blood. Drip after drip, I watched for a second as the droplets crashed onto the ground like bombs echoing in my head. They were still fighting. Perhaps they wouldn't notice if I...

"Ella, get away from there!" I heard Jacob yell from across the bonfire, "Come back, you could get hurt." He called. My throat was burning from the sweet aroma, I tried not to breathe it in and walk away from it. I couldn't help it. A growl escaped my scarred throat and I lunged into the tangle of wolves, searching for the wounded Jared. I was almost there. I was almost in complete salvation when I was yanked out of the mess. Strong hands, different hands, were wrapped around my waist once more as I attempted to wriggle free of the person's grasp. No luck. A muffled growl ripped through my chest, I could feel myself start to burn up, but then everything went quiet. I calmed myself down immediately and the hands flung me out of their hold, straight into Jacob, who seemed to be catching me a lot lately, but this time, he wasn't so eager to receive me. I looked around. Just as I feared, everyone was staring at me.

I backed up away from Jacob, trying to escape. I can't stay here. I have to move, again. I can't believe I did this, to my Mom especially. I hate doing this to her, just as we settle in, I go and ruin it all. I may as well stay and let them rip me apart as they should do. It would save my Mom all the trouble. I got a few steps back when Sam was beside me, his arms folded over his muscular chest. I jumped slightly in shock of seeing him there.

"You've got some explaining to do Ella Jackson."


	5. Chapter 5

I stared up at the towering crowd, shaking. Not from anger, from fear. Tears welled up in my blood-shot blue eyes; I was still backing away from the boys when Jacob piped up, "What's going on Ella?" He asked softly, taking a few steps towards me. I shook my head slowly, taking a few more steps backwards,

"I can't tell you Jacob. I wish I could but..." I whispered, closing my eyes, preparing myself to run as fast as I possibly could.

"You can't tell us?" Sam roared, "We've shown you what we are and you're keeping secrets from us? From Jake!" I could tell he was playing the guilt card. I didn't care I had to get out of there. I turned to leave. A warm familiar hand grabbed my arm.

"Ella," The sound of his smooth voice being so close startled me, making me jump back a step, "please." I looked deep into his gorgeous brown eyes, I couldn't stay here. Everyone's sure to hate me now. I turned away from them, closing my eyes. And I would run. I didn't care where to, and I didn't care how long it would take, I would just run as far away as possible.

Jacob's voice was almost impossible to hear, but it was as loud as thunder in my ears. I could hear the strain in his voice, the confusion buzzing in his mind, his heartbeat, thudding against his rib cage. I turned around, tears welling up, heavier in my eyes. I looked to the floor, guilty, just as Sam had wanted. I looked back up, past Jake's shoulder to look at the rest of the pack.

"Not here." Was all I said before I turned back around and headed for the trees in the distance. My paces were uneven and rushed, trying to escape the awkwardness of the situation and listening out for anyone who might be following behind me. Once I was entirely sure that no one was there, I came to a standstill by a huge tree covered with moss. Noticing that there was some form of light behind some more foliage, I walked through some more trees to find a small clearing. It wasn't one of those clearings with pretty flowers and butterflies. This was a pretty simple clearing, there were loads of massive, moss covered trees, a few small rocks and on one of the larger rocks, was a single beam of light. I looked up at the light source, not seeing any; I figured that it must be the moonlight coming through a gap in the branches above my head.

I staggered over to the trunk of one of the trees and perched myself on a dry rock underneath a low branch. I sat in solitary, silently weeping for the most part, taking in deep breaths to calm myself down. After a while of being utterly alone, I heard a twig snap and leaves ruffle in the distance behind me. I curled up into a tight ball where I was and hoped that they would destroy me quickly. I really wasn't in the mood for a slow, painful death, even though I deserved it. I'd lost control. I always do. I knew I shouldn't have come out today, I knew it was all too good to be true. My thoughts stopped in their tracks. The sound of leaves being rustled came from the far left side of me. I snapped my head around to see who it was. Instead of a bunch of angry werewolves standing there, a solemn looking Jacob trudged towards my tree. I stared at him like he was crazy. He probably was considering the events of the past hour or so. Still none-the-less, he came over to the trunk and sat down next to me. I looked away from him, staring now at the ground. I wasn't about to start this conversation off.

"You wanna talk?" He half asked, leaning back onto the tree trunk. I wanted to apologize, tell him the whole story. But I couldn't. It could be so easy, simple. But it isn't. "Ella, listen. You don't have to tell me anything. I just want to know what happened back there." Honest words. I wish I could mirror that.

"I wish I could tell you," I started quietly, resting my head in my hands, Jacob interrupted before I could continue,

"So don't tell me. Let me guess it." I raised an eyebrow, lifting my eyes to meet his,

"Okay…" I agreed reluctantly, "If you think you can." Jacob put his hand on his chin, making a performance out of thinking; I was almost close to smiling.

"So from what I know of you, you're a wolf, right?" I nodded in response, "But you just tried to eat Jared," He paused to think a bit more. I sat, waiting for his conclusion nervously. "So you're either, really hungry, a cannibal or a freaky hybrid thing." He turned his head to face me, frowning playfully. I stared at him, wide-eyed, hoping he would realize that he was onto something. "I'm really confused." He finally stated, frowning. "Are you...? No you couldn't be... It's not possible... No... Not ever..." He broke off into thought,

"Am I what...? Jacob?" I hinted, hoping my obviousness was sinking in. It worked. Jacob lifted his head and looked into my eyes.

"You're... You're a... bloodsucker too?" He asked, disbelievingly. Well, at least he guessed it.

"I'm a vampire/shape-shifter hybrid, the only one in existence." Jacob looked at me with wide eyes, not believing any of it. Here we go again with the stories... "My grandfather on my Mother's side is a wolf, but it skipped her generation and was passed onto me. My father was a vampire. He was ripped apart and burned by my grandfather shortly after I was born. That's why I don't have red eyes or burning hot skin. I can more or less pass for a human." I picked at the rubber on my shoe, leaving Jacob to make sense of it all in his head.

After a moment of sitting in silence, -Jacob frowning, counting out points on his hands, taking all previous events into account and talking quietly to himself- I stood up, brushing the dead leaves off my butt. My actions seemed to startle Jacob as he was soon on his feet at attention. His shoulders relaxed after he'd looked around, checking we were alone.

"So lemme get this straight," He started, frowning again, "You're a vampire-werewolf..."

"Shape-shifter," I corrected him,

"You're a vampire slash 'whatever' hybrid. You don't have coloured eyes or cold skin, but you don't have dark, hot skin and you've never been in a pack before." He asked half asked. I nodded,

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." I responded, coolly. Jacob, looked convinced and satisfied,

"Okay, so..." He looked down, "Where do we go from here?" He asked, nervously, "I mean do we carry on as though nothing happened?"

"Somehow I don't think Sam would let anyone forget this." I stated bluntly, truthfully.

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed. He took a moment to think again, "So, what? Do we start again?" He looked up at me with hope-filled eyes,

"That'd be nice." I agreed. Making a joke of the situation, Jacob grabbed my hand and shook it,

"Nice to meet you, my name's Jacob Black and I am a werewolf. Who might you be?" He shot me a cheeky, crooked smile. I could help but giggle,

"I'm Ella. Ella Jackson and I am a freak." I smiled back, noticing a glimmer in his eye. Well, maybe this time round, I won't hurt anybody. Jacob shot me a playful smile and wrapped his huge arm around my shoulder, bringing me closer to him. Feeling the cold autumn breeze flowing through the forest I shifted closer to him, trying to salvage every bit of heat his body radiated. I couldn't help but think of him as a kind of portable hot water bottle, but one that's conspicuous so people won't think you need to be in hospital all the time. Jacob helped me back down so that we were leaning back on the tree again and once more wrapped in eachothers arms.

Resting my head on Jacob's shoulder I heard him sigh and watched his pecks rise and fall with his breath. I looked up at his face, his head resting back, eyes closed lightly and playing on his lips was a soft smile. "Are you tired?" I whispered, my mouth resting just under his jaw,

"Nope," He opened his eyes and blinked, "Just resting." I smiled at him as his eyes looked down to meet mine, "Are you tired?" He repeated my question; I nodded slightly and rested my head back on his shoulder, feeling his hot breath down the back of my neck, making the hair on my arms raise.

"A little bit." I faked a yawn, "We should really head home." Although I had suggested it, I didn't plan on moving. _Well, as long as I stay next to Jacob I won't get pneumonia. _I thought to myself, and it was true. This kid was giving off so much heat I'm surprised that wild cats weren't gathering around him and falling asleep like they do in front of fires.

"Nah, let's just stay here, I'm comfy." He smiled, his eyes closed again as he leant his head back onto the bark of the tree.

"Yeah, you are comfy." I smiled and moved closer, wrapping one of my arms around his stomach, hoping that he wouldn't think it was too weird. He seemed to be alright with it, wrapping his arm tighter around my shoulders and using his other arm to wrap around my waist, instantly heating me up completely. And before I knew it, I drifted off into the land of dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

_I ran through the forest, my hind legs desperately pushing me further and faster. Not even looking behind to see how far I'd gotten, I found myself on the beach again, still in wolf form. A mob of angry men I'd only met once started tumbling towards me, shouting for the tribe to catch me. I span on the balls of my paws, searching for a way out; they had surrounded me. The sound of heaving breathing and mumbled curses flooded my ears, tears ran to my eyes. The fiery men grabbed me, clinging onto each of my limbs. They began to pull and within seconds, they had phased. The wolves bit and ripped at my fur. I let out a howl of pain, as one of the guys severed my left leg. _

_I looked around with teary eyes, desperate for help. From the corner of my eye I noticed the familiar orange glow of fire, sitting next to the flame, was Jacob. I tried with all my might to call out to him, but all that was able to escape from my muzzle was a feeble whine. My vision began to blur, and my sight went black around the edges from the blood-loss. _

_I felt myself being carried and I could feel heat against my skin. My impaired vision allowed me to see as much as I needed; which was where I was being carried to. The fire burned the fur right off my skin and the wolf melted away. _

_My naked, vampire body writhed in pain on the pile of logs used to create the inferno that was bringing me to my end. My body went numb. I took this opportunity to look around frantically. I looked for Jacob and found him. He looked me in the eyes and I stared back, hoping for any signs of remorse on his beautiful face. To my disappointment, there was none. Not a single trace. _

_A burning tear ran down what was left of my dissolving cheek and I let myself slip away._

I woke with a start before the dream could end properly. You know what they say; you die in your dreams, you die for real in your sleep. I blinked a few more times, getting used to the brightness of the sun and arched my back, stretching out from the rough night's sleep. I noticed the cause for my discomfort; I had been sleeping on the forest floor for around 5 hours or maybe more. I ran my fingers through my wavy morning hair to check for leaves, only to see that a somewhat familiar shirt had been led beneath me. I was sure Jacob was wearing that last night.

I was about to roll over onto my side when I heard a deep grunt emerge from beside me. I looked over, only to find a sleeping, and a very cute looking, Jacob. I couldn't help but smile at his snoring slumber. He must have felt my gaze on him as he began to stir. I quickly rolled over and closed my eyes- pretending to be asleep, just in time to see him yawn and stretch out his long, muscular arms. The forest was quiet for a moment, and then I heard Jacob sigh and felt him roll over. The heat from his skin radiated off of him and onto me, instantly warming me up, making me want to shuffle closer, to stay in the heat, but I didn't, he may still have been asleep.

I felt my waist burn up, making me open my eyes, to check if it were a dream or not. When my eyes re-adjusted to the sun once again, I came face-to-face with a sleepy, smiling Jacob. I realised then that the hot flush around my waist was due to Jacob's arms being snaked around me, embracing me in a morning greeting.

"Good morning, stranger." He yawned, groggily. His morning voice was strangely attractive, as was his bed-hair, which was sticking up in every angle ever invented.

"Morning." I replied, "I'm not even, gonna ask why we slept in the middle of a forest last night." I chuckled, stretching out my limbs again. Jacob shuffled closer,

"I don't remember," He laughed quietly, "How did you sleep?" He asked, looking down into my eyes,

"Well, it wasn't the best night's sleep I've had, but it wasn't unpleasant." I smiled, "What about you?" I asked, looking back at him,

"I think I broke my back." He joked, laughing louder whilst sitting up,

"I don't think so." I teased,

"What you don't believe me?" Jacob gasped, dramatically,

"Well, you don't exactly look that easy to break." I chuckled, punching him softly in the ribs; Jacob clearly wasn't affected at all by it. "See?" I sat up and leaned slightly closer him, "You either have no feeling... Anywhere. Or you're made of rock." I laughed and Jacob joined in,

"I like to call it buff." He informed me, flexing the bicep of the arm closest to me.

"Sure." I winked intimidating and tapped him on the head, flattening his hair a little. I turned around to pick up his shirt that I had been laying on, and brushed off the pieces of wood and leaves that got attached to it when I was sleeping, resting it in my lap, "How come you took your shirt off last night?" I asked, changing the subject,

"Oh I usually sleep naked but, I uh... wasn't sure it'd be the most welcoming sight for you to wake up to... But, then again, you might have enjoyed it." He winked confidently and lent back on his arms. I looked down at his bare chest and raised an eyebrow,

"I gotta admit, it's impressive." I nodded, adding to his ego, "How many brands of steroids did you have to take to get them?" I added quickly, knocking the smug look off his face for a moment or two,

"None. Actually." He defended, furrowing his eyebrows, I giggled under my breath,

"Mhmmm, sure." I replied, standing up, brushing leaves off my butt and back, "What time is it?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I'm not sure, 'bout...9?" He suggested and stood up too, not caring to dust off the dirt from his back, he stretched out to his full height and width. He was pretty big, considering he's only my age.

"Damn." I replied, still looking at his stomach, not even sure myself if it was the time or his body I was referring to,

"Like what you see?" Jacob snapped me out of my trance,

"Wha..?" I shook my head slightly, dazed, looking up at his smug, smiling face,

"You can touch it if you want," He teased, speaking in a tone that reminded me of how a teenager would tease their younger sibling, he bit his lip playfully and put his hands on his hips,

"Nah, I'm good," I smiled and folded my arms across my chest,

"Aww, c'mon, touch it." He chuckled, stepping closer to me, "Come on,"

"No, I'm fine, really." I laughed, Jacob outstretched his arms towards me as if he was about to hug me, "Stop," I giggled,

"Come on... Ellllaaaa, you know you want to" He teased, almost on top of me,

"Jacob, stop." I laughed again, finally raising a hand to push him away, unintentionally resting it on his sculpted chest. A wide, glowing grin appeared on Jacob's face as he looked down into my eyes, "What?"

"You touched me." He beamed and bit his lip again,

"So? You invaded my bubble." I defended weakly, my hand still on his chest,

"So, you like it." He took another step closer, this time, placing his large hands on my hips,

"Uhh what gave you that idea?" I asked, stretching out my arm, pushing him back slightly,

"Well, you can't keep your eyes off me, you think I'm adorable when I sleep and you still haven't removed your hand from my chest." He answered, over-confidently,

"Well... There isn't much else to look at out here, I've still got my hand on you because you're too close and how the hell did you know that?" I removed my hand and tried to step back, not succeeding,

"So you admit you think I'm adorable?" He smiled,

"No." I replied, stubbornly,

"Oh c'mon, I can see that you do." He moved closer, our bodies almost touching,

"Jake, everyone looks cute when they're asleep." I tried to push him off me again, this time putting my hands on his stomach,

"So?" He mimicked,

"So how did you kn..." I was caught mid-sentence by a pair of ultra-soft lips crashing onto mine. Jacob pulled me closer by my hips, his red hot skin burning mine as we embraced. My hands found their way into his soft, scruffy hair and his moved up under my shirt and onto my waist.

Jacob's tongue traced my bottom lip, ever so lightly, asking for entrance, which of course I granted. Our tongues wrestled within our mouths for dominance, Jacob won. I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him even closer to me, if that were possible. We stayed like that for a few moments before Jacob slowly shifted one of his hands down to my butt and gave it a light squeeze. "Jake..." I mumbled, pulling away, that didn't stop him though. Jacob carried on kissing me, leading a trail from my lips, down to my collar bone, "Jake, stop." I tugged on his hair.

A loud crack ran through the forest. Sounded like it was close. "What was that?" I asked, starting to get scared. Jacob stood up straight, still holding on to me, looking around in the direction the noise came from.

"I don't know. The pack?" He suggested, taking a step towards the trees,

"I don't think so. There'd be more footsteps." I added, stepping forward, as I did so, an awful stench filled my nose. I turned my head, trying to rid of it but it didn't work. I faced the forest again, only to find two dark figures heading for Jacob and me.


	7. Chapter 7

Jake and I readied ourselves for whoever it was that was heading our way; although this time we were a little less hasty. Jake put his shirt back on and puffed out his chest, making him look even bigger than he was normally. As the footsteps grew louder, I heard soft voices, like bells chiming to accompany the paces.

"I should really get you back home. You're Mom's probably worried sick." Jake told me, without taking his eyes away from the direction of the footsteps.

"She doesn't care. What's wrong?" I replied quickly.

"People I know, they're not good."

"What, more wolves?"

"Worse, they're bloodsuckers." I frowned at his comment and looked back to the forest, where two people were now clearly visible. I could tell that one was a guy and the other a girl, they were both impossibly beautiful. Both of them were tall and slim with perfect marble complexions and cold golden eyes to complement it.

"Jacob?" The woman asked and she glided towards him, her partner tailing her, Jacob strode forward to meet her half way.

"Hey, Bella" He hugged her tightly and let go quickly feeling my gaze on him, "Edward." He nodded at the man,

"Hello Jacob, how are you?" His voice reminded me of the feel of velvet against your skin, yet it was harshly used,

"Yeah I haven't seen you for a while, what are you doing out here?" The woman asked, her voice was slightly deep for a woman's, I thought, but it was still as if I were listening to a wind chime when she spoke. Her words were a lot gentler to Jacob, not like her partners. She tucked a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear, Jacob turned to me and held out an arm, motioning for me to step forward, and I did so.

"My girlfriend and I had a romantic night out, last night." He emphasised the word girlfriend and wrapped his strong arm around my waist and looked at me, smiling. I frowned slightly at him, hoping he would explain. Maybe she was his ex and he's trying to make her jealous? Oh god, I'm a rebound!

"Girlfriend?" I saw a smile play on her snowy lips, I was unsure if she was taking it as a joke or if she actually believed it, "Wow, that's really sweet Jake." She smiled then turned to me, "I'm Bella Cullen, and this is my husband Edward." Her husband walked to her side and held her protectively, obviously noticing what Jacob was trying to do. I thought I saw him shoot me a sympathetic look, like he knew what Jacob was thinking but couldn't say it.

"Hi, I'm Ellabeth; it's nice to meet you." I smiled back, leaning into Jacob and wrapped one arm around his waist and the other I rested on his abs. I could not believe I was actually playing along with his jealousy games. I can be so stupid at times.

"Yeah, you too," She smiled then looked up at her husband, his face frozen, eyes fixated on me. I frowned when I realised this, "Anyway we'd better get going, there's a dinner party that Alice is arranging. It was great seeing you, though." She smiled warmly at Jacob, he smiled back.

"Cool, I'll see you around." He said back, Bella and her husband gave us one last smile and with the blink of an eye, sped off in a different direction back into the forest. "Now," Jacob turned to me, placing his hands around my waist, "Where were we?" He leant in to kiss me, but I turned my head away letting him plant one on my cheek instead.

"Jake," I stopped him, placing my hands on his warm chest, "I don't know about this."

"What's wrong?" He rested his forehead on mine, looking down into my eyes,

"I don't know it just feels weird." I answered honestly,

"What, me being this close or…" He trailed off and kissed my neck, I moved my hands up around his neck and played with his hair,

"Jacob," I half moaned, half tried to stop him

"Mhmmm" He replied, his lips still fixed on my neck, lightly biting it,

"I don't think we should do this." He lifted his head up looking at me,

"But I thought that…" He started, his smile falling,

"I know and I do really like you, but, what happened in Chicago still scares me. I don't want to hurt you." I lied. Jacob let out a deep sigh, and ran his hands down the length of my back, leaving a trail of heat where his touch once was.

"I'm not like him Ella; I have the same strength as you do. I'm virtually indestructible." He tried his best to persuade me, but I was still worried even though I knew he was right.

"Can we just, give it some time? I'm still kinda getting over it." I looked up into his deep brown –almost black- eyes. His perfect russet skin glistened in the light of the morning sun. He ruffled his hair and cocked his head to the side, making me think that he was showing off just how beautiful he really was.

"Of course," Jake pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly with one arm around my waist and the other supporting my upper back, his fingers just touching the nape of my neck. I nuzzled my face in to his heated chest as my thoughts raced through my mind. "Are you alright?"

Maybe I should question him about the whole making Bella jealous scheme he had going on? I should do that later, I decided, because right now, I was way too tired for any discussions.

"I think we should go home." I said, pulling away to wipe my dried mascara which had no doubt left me with panda eyes, Jake nodded and left one of his large hands on my waist as we turned North to head home.

"Do you wanna go back to yours or do you wanna come back to my place?" He asked innocently. I knew it was innocent as there wasn't a lingering smug smile plastered across his pretty face. I thought about it for a second. I should go home, my Mom was probably worried about me, but then again, I could always just text her and go back to Jacobs with him. But what would he make of me going home with him, more ammunition to make Bella jealous? Knowledge of me liking him more than I probably should? Or that I'm just some easy sleaze looking for the next guy to pounce on? I had hoped that it wouldn't be the latter, I hadn't really flirted that much with him, or with anyone really. I pushed my troubling thoughts aside,

"Which is closer?"

"Well, your place is about 3 miles through the woods," He stopped and faced a different direction, "And mines right through that small patch of trees." He smiled and pointed me in the direction of his house.

"Alright, I guess we're going to yours. Just so you know, I will be stealing your bed and sleeping on it for the next 24 hours." I smiled a toothy grin and walked ahead, only able to see a few windows and a car through the foliage. Jacob caught up eventually,

"Well that's too bad that you're gonna have to share." He smirked and placed a hand on the small of my back; I frowned at him and pouted my lips, "My house; my rules." He smiled sweetly and threw me a sideways wink.

"Fine, I'll have one side and you have the other. I'll make a border with some pillows." I smiled like a champion at my idea, Jacob simply laughed, a sweet, throaty, boy's laugh. "What?" I asked, trying not to laugh with him.

"I don't have a double bed, so it's gonna be kinda hard to determine whose side is whose." His eyes narrowed and his dirty smile lingered in his aura. I could physically feel the air around him getting hotter.

"Well, then I guess you're on the floor." I mimicked the expression on his face, adding a twist of cheek to the mixture. Before he had time to say anything in retaliation we had reached his front door. I waited for him to unlock it, but he just walked straight in, I followed him meekly into a roomy sitting area. I looked around for Jacob, noticing that he was in the adjoining kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, pouring out two bowls of cereal and putting some bread in the toaster. I smiled and walked over to him,

"Sure," I replied, leaning on the side of the worktop. I looked around nervously, waiting for one of his parents to come in and ask who the hell I was and why I was in their house. Jacob strode over to me in two steps and placed a hand either side of my hips. His skin heating mine once again,

"It's alright, my dad's not home." He smiled and leaned closer to my ear, whispering now, "He won't be home for a while." He let his scolding hot breath linger on my ear, making my cheeks flush a vibrant red as he allowed his lips to brush along my jaw.

"What about your mom? Brothers, sisters?" I started to list any excuse to calm him down,

"My sisters moved out years ago." He brought his forehead down to rest lightly on mine; his brown eyes flickered with shades of honey and gold in the sunlight pouring in through the window. He hesitated for a moment, "And my Mom died when I was a kid." My face dropped and so did my heart. I instantly raised my arms and wrapped them around his neck,

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, feeling absolutely terrible with myself.

"Hey, it's okay. You didn't know." He smiled, "I don't really remember her much and all I have is a couple of photographs." He nodded over to the mantelpiece and I glanced over with him. She was gorgeous, tall and slim with long sleek black hair down to her waist. Jacob had her eyes, beautiful, kind glittering eyes filled with so much joy and laughter. Her thin lips were curved into a warm smile, as was the man standing next to her. I assumed that the man was Jacob's dad as he bore resemblance to my friend too. Jacob clearly inherited his dad's build; he too was very tall and thick set, with a strong jaw and a hard expression even though he was smiling. The picture showed them standing together on what looked like a balcony over viewing a night-time city skyline. His mother was wearing a silken purple floor length dress and heels, with a stunning diamond barrette in her sleek hair. His dad was wearing what looked like a tux; he looked very handsome, much like his son. Still looking at the picture I spoke softly to Jacob,

"She's beautiful." Jacob looked back down at me, still holding on to my hips. He caught my eye and moved my head softly back towards him,

"Just like you." He whispered and placed a kiss on my forehead, reminding me very briefly that I had a pimple the size of the empire state building hiding under my bangs. I looked down and blushed, not exactly sure on how to reply to that, so I didn't. I stayed there with Jacob in my arms, feeling him relax and tense and then relax again. I tilted my head to the left so that our cheeks were now touching; Jacob lowered his head and let his lips touch my collar bone. I ran my fingers along the nape of his neck, feeling the short tufts of hair that had grown out since it had last been cut and I brushed my lips against his cheek, planting a small kiss by his ear. He raised his head and looked at me intensely; his expression softened as he craned his neck and kissed me softly. He reached his hand around my neck to give it support and left his other hand to rest on my waist, drawing circles in the small of my back with his thumb, I pulled him closer to me, feeling like I had to be with him, I had to have him around. Jacob dropped his hands down and picked me up just high enough for me to wrap my legs around his waist as he carried me up the stairs. Jacob wasn't joking around when he told me he didn't have a double bed, the thing didn't even look like Jacob could lay flat out on his back on it, but then again he was freakishly large for a guy of his age. He let me drop onto the small single bed when we reached it and laid down with me, my legs still either side of his hips, his body still on top of mine. He slipped his tongue into my mouth softly, as if he was too nervous to just do it so I took the lead in that department, wanting the two of us to be one. He started to kiss me more desperately now, his breath was shortening to pants and his lips hardened against mine. I kissed him back harder, not wanting to lose this battle we had going on now. I trailed my hands down his chest and reached for the bottom of his shirt, dragging it slowly over his abs, making sure that he could feel me touching them as I pulled his shirt higher and higher until he broke away to rip if off and chuck it to the floor. His lips came crashing back down onto me, this time hitting my neck. His breath was steaming in the already humid room, proving just how hot he quite literally was, he began to search for my sweet spot on my neck also, softly at first but as he started to bite it was getting harder and harder for me to contain the urge to moan that he was giving me. I sighed out his name, a whisper, not even touching the air. But it caught his ear and his head snapped up to mine, his cheeks were flushed, his hair tousled and his biceps bulging around me. He gave me that intense stare again,

"Ella," He panted in between breaths, "I love you."


End file.
